- Townley Caryatid
The Townley Caryatid is a 7.25m high
Pentelic marble caryatid , depicting a woman dressed to take part in religious rites (possibly fertility rites related toDemeter orCeres , due to the cereal motifs on her headdress).It dates to the Roman era, between 140 and 160 AD, and is in the
Neo Attic style adapted from 5th century BC Athenian workmanship. It is one of a group of five surviving caryatids found on the same site, arranged to form a colonnade in a religious sanctuary built on land owned byRegilla , wife of the Greek magnate and philosopherHerodes Atticus . (One fragmentary caryatid, now in theVilla Albani , Rome, is signed by the Athenian sculptorsKriton andNikolaos .) This sanctuary was probably dedicated to Demeter.It was found on the
Via Appia and acquired byCharles Townley , who bequeathed it to theBritish Museum in1805 , where its catalogue number is 1805, 0703 44. It was until recently in Gallery 84, but is now on the Main Stairs, replacing Townley's "Discobolus ".
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